Committal Hearings

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many committal hearings were held in each of the last five years; and what estimate she has made of the total cost of committal hearings in each year.

Harriet Harman: In 2005-06 the number of committals for trial was 45,809 and cases sent for trial was 30,464.
	For the first six months of 2006-07 committals for trial are 22,353 and sent for trial are 14,579.
	The cost for committal hearings is estimated as follows:
	
		
			   £ million 
			 2005-06 (full year) 9.5 
			 2006-07 (six months) 4.6

Electoral Arrangements

Oliver Heald: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs why the Environment Agency has been given access to the full version of the electoral register.

Bridget Prentice: Access to the foil version of the electoral register is necessary for the Environmental Agency in order to support its crime prevention and criminal law enforcement functions for environmental crimes. The Environmental Agency also has access to the foil electoral register for security checks for employees and potential employees.

Islam and Muslim Affairs

Paul Goodman: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what arrangements her Department has in place for offering her advice on Islam and matters relating to Muslims; and who her advisers are on Islam and Muslim affairs.

Harriet Harman: Where appropriate officials in my Department provide advice on matters relating to Muslim communities.
	My Department has developed a relationship with the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies (a body within Oxford University), although they haven't advised me directly my officials have consulted them on numerous occasions.
	The Department for Communities and Local Government is the lead Department on domestic matters relating to Muslim communities and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office is the lead department on international matters. Where appropriate officials seek advice from these departments.

Slave Trade

Hywel Francis: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what discussions he has had with appropriate bodies in Wales on the commemoration of the bicentenary of the abolition of the slave trade; and if he will make a statement.

Peter Hain: In 2007 we will commemorate the 200(th) anniversary of the passage of the 1807 Abolition of the Slave Trade Act. This Act outlawed the slave trade throughout the British empire and made it illegal for British ships to be involved in the trade. The bicentenary will be marked with a series of events throughout the United Kingdom. It is important that the people of Wales are aware of its role in the slave trade, so the Wales Office is seeking to play an active role in the commemorations in Wales.
	I have already had discussions with First Minister on how best Wales can mark this anniversary. My officials at the Wales Office will also be liaising with relevant organisations and I intend to host a Wales Office event next year to mark the bicentenary.

Departmental Dress Code

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what his Department's policy is on the display of religious  (a) artefacts,  (b) symbols and  (c) dress by its staff; how many staff have been subject to disciplinary proceedings regarding this policy in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Fitzpatrick: There is no specific policy within the Department governing the display of religious artefacts, symbols or dress. The Department's Equal Opportunities and diversity Policies set out the requirement for all staff to respect the dignity of others and to ensure that their behaviour does not cause offence. It is contrary to the policy of the Department to discriminate on grounds such as age, gender, gender reassignment, marital status, race, colour, ethnic origin or nationality, sexual orientation, disability, religion/belief or hours of work.
	The Department has recently established a Multi-Faith Advisory Group, which aim to:
	Help DTI treat fairly people of all faiths and none;
	Promote understanding of religious beliefs and practices and how these may affect the ways that some staff may want to work flexibly in DTI; and
	Be a forum for DTI staff to bring issues and concerns related to their religious beliefs at work, and a respected channel of those views to DTI as a whole.
	No staff have been subject to disciplinary proceedings regarding the display of religious artefacts, symbols or dress within the past five years.

Export Control Act

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when he plans to publish the terms of reference of the review of the Export Control Act 2002 due to take place in May 2007.

Malcolm Wicks: As indicated in my response to the hon. Member's question of 4 May 2006,  Official Report, column 1751W, and by my colleague, my right hon. Friend the Minister of State for Industry and the Regions, in her response to your question of 13 September 2006,  Official Report, column 2326W, it is my intention to start the review of the regulations introduced under the Export Control Act after they have been in force for three years i.e. from May 2007. The details of the review are being actively considered but have yet to be finalised.

Low Carbon Buildings Programme

Joan Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what percentage of his Department's Low Carbon Buildings Programme budget was allocated to individual household installations in each year of the programme.

Malcolm Wicks: The original budget for Low Carbon Buildings Programme Phase 1 was £30 million. £1.5 million was brought forward for use on the Clear Skies and Solar PV Major Demonstration Programmes to smooth the transition between the legacy schemes, and the new scheme.
	From the remaining £28.5 million, £6.5 million had been set aside at scheme launch to fund the household stream over the next three years. The percentage breakdown by year was as follows:
	
		
			   Budget percentage 
			 2006-07 12 
			 2007-08 7 
			 2008-09 3 
		
	
	Taking into account higher than anticipated demand in year one, we announced on 25 October 2006 that we would be re-allocating a further £6.2 million from the Phase 1 budget to the household stream. No details on how this figure will be distributed by year are available as yet. However, my officials will be meeting with industry representatives on 31 October to discuss in more detail how the programme will operate going forward.

Muslim Council of Britain

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much  (a) financial support and  (b) support in kind his Department and its agencies has given to the Muslim Council of Britain in each year since 1997.

Jim Fitzpatrick: Total payments made by the Department to the Muslim Council of Great Britain are as follows:
	
		
			   £ 
			 2003-04 79,042 
			 2004-05 225,957 
			 2005-06 124,800 
			 2006-07 46,000 
		
	
	No payments were made before January 2004. Almost all the funding has been to support awareness raising within the Muslim community for the Employment Equality Regulations on sexual orientation and religion and belief.

Regional Development Agencies

Mark Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the expenditure per head of population of each regional development agency was in each year since 1999.

Margaret Hodge: The following table shows the Regional Development Agency budget per head of population, in each of the nine regions since 1999-2000 to 2006-2007.
	
		
			  (£) 
			   1999-2000  2000-02  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07 
			 AWM 19.80 21.73 27.11 39.23 46.15 41.73 52.30 54.61 
			 EEDA 5.66 6.79 10.37 16.60 15.09 15.85 24.33 25.28 
			 EMDA 10.00 16.34 20.97 24.63 28.53 29.02 38.04 39.75 
			 LDA — 33.09 37.46 41.54 44.64 46.19 52.53 55.07 
			 NWDA 21.04 23.28 40.29 40.89 46.11 54.77 57.01 59.70 
			 ONE 36.80 39.20 63.20 77.20 89.20 90.80 96.00 100.40 
			 SEEDA 11.66 13.51 17.96 20.74 25.18 20.37 29.07 30.18 
			 SWRDA 8.77 12.65 17.34 21.02 20.20 23.06 31.22 32.44 
			 YF 24.69 25.51 42.24 43.06 49.79 58.77 60.20 63.26 
			  Note:  Population figures are taken from the 2001 UK Census

Solicitors (Complaints)

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what process is followed by officials in his Department in making a complaint to the Law Society about a named solicitor; and what Ministerial approval is required for such a complaint to be lodged.

Malcolm Wicks: Anyone may make a complaint about solicitors to the Law Society, whose website provides contact details and explains the scope of their powers. When individual cases are referred to the Department they are considered and, if appropriate, passed to the Law Society. Ministerial approval is not required.

Departmental Travel

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much has been spent by his Department on  (a) chartering aircraft and  (b) non-scheduled air travel in each of the last five years.

Gillian Merron: The Department for Transport and three of its agencies, HA, GCDA and MCA do not record chartered and non-scheduled flights separately from other air travel. The information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	The Department's remaining agencies, DSA, DVLA, VCA, and VOSA have only used scheduled flights in the last five years.
	In respect of overseas travel by Cabinet Ministers, since 1999 the Government have published an annual list of all overseas visits undertaken by Cabinet Ministers costing £500 or more during each financial year. Where non-scheduled aircraft are used, this is shown in the list. Information for 2005-06 was published on 24 July 2006. Copies of the lists are available in the Library for the reference of Members.
	All ministerial travel is undertaken in accordance with the rules set out in the "Ministerial Code" and "Travel by Ministers", copies of which are available in the Library for the reference of Members. All official travel is undertaken in accordance with the requirements of the "Civil Service Management Code", a copy of which is also available in the Library for the reference of Members.

Departmental Vacancies

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what proportion of vacancies in his Department in the last 12 months required candidates to have at least a grade C in  (a) English and  (b) mathematics GCSE.

Gillian Merron: In the past 12 months DFT (central) has run two external campaigns requesting GCSE's. One of these asked for a grade C in Maths and English and the other recruitment exercise required five GCSE's at grade C or above with no subjects specified.
	VOSA have run 50 external recruitment campaigns in the last 12 months, where they have required grade C in English but with no requirement for Maths. If candidates do not have the required qualification in English, they are required to have two years admin experience instead.
	The other Executive agencies of DFT have not requested GCSE qualifications in their recruitment exercises of the past 12 months. Posts advertised to internal staff only do not have GCSE qualifications as a requirement as employees would already have the necessary skills set.

International GCSE

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether his Department recognises the International GCSE as an acceptable substitute for a GCSE for the purposes of recruitment.

Gillian Merron: The Department and its Executive agencies have never been presented with this qualification. If GCSE's were a requirement for some recruitment exercises and this qualification was provided, the Department or agency concerned may possibly consider this as a substitute, but we would need to seek further advice from the QCA as to the content of the qualification.

Rail Services

Linda Riordan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether existing cross-country train services linking Yorkshire with the  (a) South Coast and  (b) South West will be maintained when the new Cross Country Franchise begins.

Tom Harris: Services on these routes are changing to deliver the benefits of the West Coast Main Line upgrade and facilitate future increases in capacity. From December 2008 there will be an hourly service from Edinburgh to Plymouth, via Leeds, supplemented with an hourly service between Newcastle and Reading, via Doncaster. Passengers from Yorkshire to the South Coast will be required to change, depending on the origin and destination the most appropriate place to change: will be one of London, Manchester, Birmingham or Reading.

Railways

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 19 October 2006,  Official Report, column 1340W, on railways, what the outcomes have been of correspondence between officials in his Department and the South Hampshire Rail Users' Group.

Tom Harris: Letters have been sent to the South Hampshire Rail Users Group in May and October by officials in the Department who have noted the material provided, and explained the franchise replacement process for South Western. They covered the franchise objectives, the development of the specification, the timescales for bid evaluation and award of the new franchise, and the key outputs of the winning bidder. The day-to-day operation of the franchise is a matter for Stagecoach, and South Hampshire Rail Users Group should take up such issues with them.

Road Safety

Humfrey Malins: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many personal injury road traffic accidents involving an ambulance occurred in England and Wales in each of the last five years.

Stephen Ladyman: The information requested is given in the table.
	
		
			  Personal injury accidents involving ambulances: 2001-05 
			   England  Wales  Scotland  Great Britain 
			 2001 303 24 13 340 
			 2002 295 21 16 332 
			 2003 319 29 17 365 
			 2004 277 14 15 306 
			 2005 250 21 20 291

Climate Change

Jim Devine: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what progress was made on tackling climate change at the Gleneagles dialogue meeting in Mexico.

David Miliband: The meeting confirmed that real and practical progress is being made in a number of key areas. For example; promoting opportunities for low carbon technologies; recognising the scale of future investment needed; and, underlining the importance of strong frameworks to support international climate change co-operation. The meeting also starkly illustrated the need for comprehensive global action to combat climate change.

British Waterways

Bob Laxton: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will carry out an impact study on the effect on British Waterways of the proposed reduction in its funding from his Department.

Ben Bradshaw: Government have consulted closely with British Waterways on the financial pressures facing DEFRA and the impact these will have on it.
	It is important to understand that British Waterways restructuring plans predated the one off in-year savings exercise that took 7 per cent. out of British Waterways 2006-07 grant in aid. These restructuring plans came on top of major investment by this Government which, in addition to £42 million to address the safety backlog, has reduced the general maintenance backlog from £270 million to just £119 million.
	The restructuring will bring a greater focus to customer service on the bankside, improvements to business efficiency and to address the recent reductions in Government funding.

British Waterways

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions he has had with British Waterways on the implications for safety of the reductions in staff allocated to operating bridges and locks.

Ben Bradshaw: This is an operational matter for British Waterways (BW). BW's priorities are to secure the safety and integrity of the network and they have assured me that there are no implications for health and safety.

Sport England

Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many staff left Sport England in each of the last five years; and how much Sport England spent on payments for staff leaving the organisation in each year.

Richard Caborn: The number of staff who left Sport England, and payments made in respect of redundancy in each of the last five years are as follows:
	
		
			  As at April each year  Normal turnover  Restructure  Total leavers  Redundancy and payment in lieu (£)( 1) 
			 2002 — — (2)— 6.6 million 
			 2003 — 101 101 1,172,585 
			 2004 40 22 62 255,415 
			 2005 8 45 53 522,440 
			 2006 31 54 85 986.360 
			 (1) Payment in lieu was paid to staff in respect of three months notice.(2 )Due to the installation of a new Human Resources system Sport England are unable to provide historical data on staff numbers before 2004.

Sport England

Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what customer satisfaction surveys have been undertaken to assess the performance of Sport England over the last five years; and what the results were of each.

Richard Caborn: Sport England commissioned a customer satisfaction survey in 2001 to be carried out at the end of each year based around criteria that were of most importance to their customers including, for example; knowledge of staff, ability of Sport England staff to make decisions, proactive approach, quality of services and products delivered. The annual overall Customer Satisfaction Index (CSI) figures for that survey are:
	
		
			  Customer Satisfaction Index 
			   Percentage 
			 2001 74.3 
			 2002 72.9 
			 2003 70.6 
			 2004 69.5 
		
	
	In 2005 Sport England commissioned a new survey that reflected a more competitive test of the market. This was carried out in early 2006. The overall Customer Satisfaction Index figure for 2006 was 65.6 from a scale of 50-80.
	As a new baseline has been set the 2006 figure is not comparable to the Customer Satisfaction Index figures of 2001-04.

Cancer Data

Linda Riordan: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the  (a) incidence and  (b) survival rate of (i) ovarian, (ii) lung, (iii) bladder, (iv) breast, (v) bowel, (vi) prostate, (vii) throat, (viii) mouth, (ix) stomach and (x) testicular cancer was in (A) England, (B) Yorkshire and (C) Calderdale in the most recent period for which figures are available.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 2 November 2006:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking what the (a) incidence and (b) survival rate of (i) ovarian, (ii) lung, (iii) bladder, (iv) breast, (v) bowel, (vi) prostate, (vii) throat, (viii) mouth, (ix) stomach and (x) testicular cancer were in (A) England, (B) Yorkshire and (C) Calderdale in the most recent period for which figures are available. (98069)
	The most recent available (a) incidence rates for (i) ovarian, (ii) lung, (iii) bladder, (iv) breast, (v) colorectal, (vi) prostate, (vii) laryngeal, (viii) lip, mouth and pharynx (ix) stomach and (x) testicular cancer registered in A) England, (B) Yorkshire and Humber government office region (GOR) and (C) Calderdale local authority (LA) are given in the attached table.
	The latest nationally comparable survival rates for England, Government Office Regions and Strategic Health Authorities (but not for other areas such as local authorities), are one-and five-year relative rates for patients (aged 15-99) diagnosed in 1997-99 and followed up to the end of 2004. These are available on the Office for National Statistics (ONS) website (at the link below) for (ii) lung, (iii) bladder, (iv) female breast, (v) colon, (vi) prostate and (ix) stomach cancer. Equivalent figures are not available below national level for the other sites requested.
	http://www.statistics.gov.uk/SatBase/Product.asp?vlnk=11991&Pos=2&ColRank=1&Rank=272
	For England, survival rates are available for all the sites requested (except mouth) for adult patients (aged 15-99 years) diagnosed during 1998-2001 followed up to the end of 2003. These rates are available on the ONS website at the link below:
	http://www.statistics.gov.uk/StatBase/ssdataset.asp?vlnk=8982&Pos=4&ColRank=1&Rank=272
	In this publication throat cancer is referred to as cancer of the larynx.
	
		
			  Rates per 100,000 population of newly diagnosed selected cancers in England, Government Office region Yorkshire and Humber, and local authority Calderdale, 2004 
			  Site description  ICD-10 code  Sex  England  Yorkshire and Humber GOR  Calderdale LA 
			 (i) ovary C56 F 21 19 16 
			   
			 (ii) bronchus and lung C34 M 74 87 77 
			   F 48 58 65 
			   
			 (iii) bladder C67 M 24 26 17 
			   F 9 12 13 
			   
			 (iv) breast C50 M 1 1 1 
			   F 145 142 170 
			   
			 (v) colon CIS M 38 38 30 
			   F 35 34 31 
			   
			 (vi) prostate C61 M 120 118 105 
			   
			 (vii) larynx C32 M 6 6 13 
			   F 1 1 2 
			 (viii) Lip, mouth and pharynx C00-C14 M 12 11 6 
			   F 6 6 7 
			   
			 (ix) stomach C16 M 17 18 23 
			   F 9 11 8 
			   
			 (x) testis C62 M 7 6 3 
			  Source:Office for National Statistics

Euro Preparation Group

Eric Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will place in the Library copies of the Treasury minute from HM Treasury's euro preparation group meeting of 21 February.

Edward Balls: I refer the hon. Member to the answer he received on 2 October 2006,  Official Report, column 2534W, from the Minister of State for Local Government and Community Cohesion.

Hypothermia

Robert Smith: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many deaths linked with hypothermia there have been in  (a) the United Kingdom,  (b) England,  (c) Scotland,  (d) Wales and  (e) Aberdeenshire in each year since 2004; and how many people in each area were aged (i) 60 to 64, (ii) 65 to 79 and (iii) over 80 years.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 2 November 2006:
	As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking how many deaths linked with hypothermia there have been in (a) the United Kingdom, (b) England, (c) Scotland, (d) Wales and (e) Aberdeenshire in each year since 2004; and how many people in each area were aged (i) 60 to 64, (ii) 65 to 79 and (iii) over 80. (98749)
	Available information relates to the number of deaths where hypothermia was mentioned on the death certificate. The most recent year for which figures are available is 2005. The attached table shows the number of deaths where hypothermia was mentioned on the death certificate by age group for England, and Wales. Figures for Scotland and Aberdeenshire are the responsibility of the General Register Office for Scotland.
	
		
			  Deaths with a mention of hypothermia( 1)  on the death certificate, by age and country of England and Wales( 2)  2004-2005( 3) 
			   England  Wales 
			   2004  2005  2004  2005 
			 Under 60 33 35 2 1 
			 60-64 10 7 2 1 
			 65-79 37 36 2 0 
			 80 and over 76 67 5 2 
			 All ages 156 145 11 4 
			 (1)Deaths with a mention of hypothermia defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) code T68.(2 )Deaths of usual residents.(3 )Figures are for deaths occurring in each calendar year.

Tax Credits

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  on what basis bonuses were paid to tax credit staff in 2005-06 and 2006-07; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what criteria are used to determine bonus payments to employees of the Tax Credit Office;
	(3)  whether bonus payments made to employees of the Tax Credit Office are based on  (a) relative and  (b) absolute levels of performance;
	(4)  what quotas are set for the  (a) number of people and  (b) proportion of the pay budget in the Tax Credit Office in relation to bonus payments;
	(5)  what the maximum budget available for bonus payments to employees of the Tax Credit Office was in each year since 2001; and what the total amount of bonuses paid to employees of the Office was in each such year.

Dawn Primarolo: Bonus payments were made to a small proportion of staff in the Tax Credit Office (TCO) recognising exceptional performance during the past year.
	There are no quotas set for the number of staff eligible for a bonus. Bonuses in 2005-06 and 2006-07 under the arrangements available to all staff in HM Revenue and Customs which award exceptional performance. Between 2003 and 2006, this allowed for up to 0.1 per cent. of the pay bill of individual business units, to be paid as a bonus. This was increased to 0.2 per cent. as part of HMRC's 2005-07 pay agreement agreed with the Department's Trade Unions.
	For the number and value of bonus payments made since new tax credits were introduced in 2003, I refer the hon. Member to the answers I gave him on 23 October 2006,  Official Report, column 1646W, 25 July 2006,  Official Report, column 1393W, 29 June 2006,  Official Report, column 587W and 12 December 2005,  Official Report, columns 1792-93W.

Tax Credits

Andrew Turner: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many tax credit overpayments were made in 2005; what their total value was; what the value of each decile of the total number of overpayments was; and what proportion and value of overpayment have been written off  (a) as unreclaimable and  (b) not reasonably ascertainable by the recipients.

Dawn Primarolo: Overpayment statistics are published by year of entitlement. The latest estimates are for 2004-05 and are published in "Child and Working Tax Credits. Finalised Awards. 2004-05. Supplement on Payments in 2004-05". This publication provides information on overpayments and underpayments, based on final family circumstances and incomes for 2004-05. This publication and provisional estimates for the number of in-work families with tax credit awards as at selected dates in 2005-06 are available on the HMRC website at:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/personal-tax-credits/cwtc-quarterly-stats.htm
	Final estimates for 2005-06 will not be available until 2005-06 awards have been finalised.
	Decile distribution of 2004-05 overpayments is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Deciles (10 per cent.)  Number of families (Thousand)  Value of overpayments (£ million) 
			 1(st) 196 6 
			 2(nd) 196 16 
			 3(rd) 196 29 
			 4(th) 196 47 
			 5(th) 196 69 
			 6(th) 196 100 
			 7(th) 195 144 
			 8(th) 196 215 
			 9(th) 196 341 
			 10(th) 196 728 
			 All 1,958 1,696 
			  Notes:1. The table includes terminated awards and does not include overpayments less than £10.2. The analysis is based on the £1.7 billion total overpayment figure, which is the outstanding stock of overpayments 'at April 2005'. Total overpayments, including overpayments arising after April 2005 were £1.8 billion. 
		
	
	Information on amount of tax credit overpayments written off in 2004-05 and 2005-06 is published in paragraph 2.18 of the Comptroller and Auditor General's Standard Report on the HM Revenue and Customs 2005-06 Accounts.

House of Lords

David Laws: To ask the Leader of the House what his estimate is of the total costs of the House of Lords for each year since 1990-91, broken down by main budget headings; and if he will make a statement.

Jack Straw: The figures are given in the following table. Expenditure is stated in cash or near-cash equivalents, including capital expenditure, to provide comparison across the period. Non-cash expenditure, e.g. depreciation and cost of capital, accounted for from 2001-02 has been excluded.
	
		
			  House of Lords Expenditure (Net) 
			   Accommodation costs( 1)  General administrative costs, including staff salaries( 1)  Members' attendance expenses  Police and security staff( 2)  Total 
			 1990-91 0 6,558 4,577 5,139 16,274 
			 1991-92 0 7,264 4,990 6,259 18,513 
			 1992-93 10,078 10,971 4,513 6,655 32,217 
			 1993-94 10,918 12,112 6,274 6,956 36,260 
			 1994-95 13,540 12,524 6,496 4,821 37,381 
			 1995-96 14,820 13,571 6,659 4,796 39,846 
			 1996-97 13,639 12,975 7,021 4,884 38,519 
			 1997-98 13,784 13,862 6,579 5,182 39,407 
			 1998-99 13,560 14,921 9,487 5,227 43,195 
			 1999-2000 14,144 15,943 9,390 5,702 45,179 
			 2000-01 15,190 16,644 8,412 5,425 45,671 
			 2001-02 24,258 16,161 10,014 5,895 56,328 
			 2002-03 17,106 20,101 13,386 6,976 57,569 
			 2003-04 19,721 20,698 13,158 7,540 61,117 
			 2004-05 72,874 23,445 14,317 8,191 118,827 
			 2005-06 22,021 22,004 15,426 9,112 68,563 
			 (1) Prior to April 1992 certain services including IT, printing and publications, works and accommodation services were provided by or through Government Departments and agencies on an allied service basis. From April 1992 each House took over responsibility for its share of the expenditure at that time.(2) The percentage of the total security costs for the Parliamentary Estate attributable to the House of Lords is reviewed periodically and has changed over the period of this report.

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

Oliver Letwin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the cost of educating children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder was in the last period for which figures are available; how many such children were in education in that period; and if he will make a statement.

Parmjit Dhanda: The Department does not collect separate figures on the number or cost of educating children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) but the following table provides information showing the number of pupils with behaviour, emotional and social difficulties: these figures include pupils with ADHD:
	
		
			  Maintained nursery, primary, secondary and special schools( 1,2) :Number and percentage of pupils with behaviour, emotional and social difficulties (BESD) ( 3,4) 
			   Number of pupils with BESD  Number of pupils at "School Action Plus" and with statements of SEN  Percentage of pupils with BESD 
			 Maintained Nursery 210 2,280 9.1 
			 Maintained Primary (1) 55,170 298,570 18.5 
			 Maintained Secondary (1) 66,890 227,490 29.4 
			 Maintained Special (2) 12,120 83,960 14.4 
			 Total 134,380 612,300 21.9 
			 (1) The figures include schools deemed as middle schools.(2) The figures exclude general hospital schools, and dually registered schools.(3) Pupils at School Action Plus and those pupils with statements of SEN provided information on their primary need and, if appropriate, their secondary need. Information on primary need only is shown here.(4) The source is from the Schools' Census as at January 2006.Numbers have been rounded to the nearest 10. There may be discrepancies between the sum of constituent items and totals as shown.

Business Academy Bexley

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  what representations he has received on the Business Academy Bexley;
	(2)  what the  (a) operational budget,  (b) capital budget and  (c) total cost was of the Business Academy Bexley in each year since it opened.

Jim Knight: The Business Academy Bexley opened in September 2002 and moved into its new buildings in September 2003. The academy comprises a primary school, with nursery provision, and an 11-18 secondary school.
	The total capital and revenue grant made available to the academy in each of the years since it opened is shown as follows. The total capital grant includes £2.4 million of sponsorship.
	
		
			  £ 
			  Financial year  Revenue grant  Capital grant including sponsorship  Total grant 
			 2001-02 — 2,418,731.32 2,418,731.32 
			 2002-03 2,712,838.00 16,689,742.03 19,402,580.03 
			 2003-04 4,153,565.18 11,493,017.06 15,646,582.24 
			 2004-05 6,297,267.15 6,157,243.94 12,454,511.09 
			 2005-06 7,065,553.86 356,101.84 7,421,655.70 
			 2006-07 4,539,185.55 — 4,539,185.55 
			 Total 24,768,409.74 37,114,836.19 61,883,245.93 
			  Notes: 1.  Bexley Primary opened in September 2004. 2. The figures for 2006-07 show expenditure up to end of October 2006.

National Enterprise Network

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many schools are participating in the national enterprise network; how many new summer schools in enterprise took place in 2006; and how many scholarships for young British entrepreneurs to American universities the Government have funded in 2006.

Jim Knight: There are 51 expert 'Hub' schools in the Schools' Enterprise Education Network (SEEN) supported by a further 160 'Spoke' schools and five national 'Hubs', the network embraces all other secondary schools. 23 summer school pathfinders, testing five different models, took place in 2006. 17 participants have been identified for support during the 2006/07 academic year under the US enterprise scholarship scheme for UK university students.

Pensions

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  what the arrangements are for the payment of pensions to people who retire early through ill health for each pension scheme for which his Department is responsible; what the incidence of ill health retirement was as a percentage of all retirement for such schemes for each year since 1988-89; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what the current rate of ill health retirement is for each public sector pension scheme for which his Department is responsible; and if he will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: The Teachers' Pension Scheme (England and Wales) (TPS) provides for immediate payment of retirement benefits to scheme members who, through illness or injury, are permanently incapacitated for teaching. Enhanced benefits are paid if the illness or injury led to cessation of pensionable employment before the scheme's normal pension age of 60.
	Continuing improvements in the support given by employers to teachers who become ill, in particular the early and effective use of professional occupational health staff, has resulted in a year on year reduction in the numbers of ill health retirements by TPS members.
	A new ill health retirement benefit structure will be introduced into the TPS from January 2007. The requirement for permanent incapacity for teaching will remain, but the severity of the medical condition and its impact on future earnings capacity will determine whether a person is awarded an enhanced or unenhanced level of benefit.
	The following table shows ill health retirements as a percentage of all retirements by teachers working in the maintained schools sector in each year from 1989-90 to 2004-05. The percentages are based on the figures in the following table in the answer to the hon. Member's question on 25 July,  Official Report columns 1471-2W.
	
		
			  Teachers' Pension Scheme (England and Wales): ill health retirements as a percentage of all types of retirement from the maintained schools sector in England by year of award from 1989-90 to 2004-05 
			  Financial year (1 April to 31 March)  Percentage 
			 1989-90 24 
			 1990-91 28 
			 1991-92 29 
			 1992-93 28 
			 1993-94 30 
			 1994-95 33 
			 1995-96 30 
			 1996-97 27 
			 1997-98 18 
			 1998-99 27 
			 1999-00 25 
		
	
	Based on total active scheme membership of the Teachers' Pension Scheme (England and Wales) 590,032 at 31 March 2005 (source: Teachers' Pension Scheme (England and Wales) Resource Accounts 2005-06), the percentage of active scheme members retiring on ill health grounds was 0.37 per cent. The equivalent figure for the maintained schools sector only in 2005-06 was 0.32 per cent.

Special Educational Needs

Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the Government's policy is on statementing children with special educational needs; and what guidelines his Department issues on the implementation of the policy.

Parmjit Dhanda: Local authorities have a statutory duty, where necessary, to assess children with special educational needs (SEN) and draw up statements. In carrying out this duty local authorities must have regard to the guidance in the SEN Code of Practice. The Code advises that a local authority should consider carrying out a statutory assessment with a view to drawing up a statement if a child has not responded to the Code's school-based levels of support, School Action and School Action Plus, and that their needs are such that they cannot be met from the resources normally available to mainstream schools.
	Our SEN strategy "Removing Barriers to Achievement" (2004) set out a long-term programme to improve provision in mainstream schools so that more parents can feel assured that their child's needs are being met without the support of a statement The proper implementation of this strategy does not lead to a reduction of entitlement: children who might previously have been given a statement will continue to have their needs met from improved school provision and those with severe or complex needs who still require statements would continue to be provided with them.

Asylum/Immigration

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether his Department has received any information about a Tamil asylum seeker returned by UK authorities and subsequently killed; and if he will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: We have recently seen reports of the deaths of two individuals in Sri Lanka after they have been returned to Sri Lanka by the UK. We are looking into these with the assistance of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. I will write to the hon. Member with the result of our inquiries when these have been completed.
	We do not consider on the basis of the information we currently have about these incidents that there is reason to stop the removal of people to Sri Lanka who have had their claims rejected and any appeal dismissed.

Asylum/Immigration

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many young people under the age of  (a) 18 and  (b) 10 years are being held for the purposes of immigration control; in which establishments they are held; and how many have been held for (i) six months or less and (ii) over six months.

Liam Byrne: The following table shows the number of persons detained solely under Immigration Act powers as at 25 March 2006, recorded as being under 18, broken down by age and place of detention, having been held for a period of six months or less.
	Information on the number of persons detained, broken down by those who are under 18 years of age is already in the public domain and was published in the "Quarterly Asylum Bulletin" on the 23 May 2006 on the Home Office Research Development and Statistics Directorate website at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html
	
		
			  Minors( 1)  recorded as being held in detention in the United Kingdom solely under Immigration Act powers, as at 25 March 2006, by age and place of detention( 2, 3) 
			  Number of minors 
			   Age of person as at 25 March 2006 
			   Under 10  11-17  Total( 1) 
			 Dungavel (4)— (5)— (4)— 
			 Port of Dover (5)— (4)— (4)— 
			 Tinsley House 5 (5)— 5 
			 Yarl's Wood 30 15 45 
			 Total 35 15 50 
			 (1) People in detention recorded as being under 18 as at 25 March 2006. Figures are likely to overstate because applicants aged 18 or over may claim to be younger on arrival in the United Kingdom. (2) Excluding persons detained in police cells and those in dual detention.  (3) Figures rounded to the nearest five.  (4) Zero.  (5 )1 or 2, and may not sum due to rounding.

Cautions (Lancashire)

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of cautions issued by Lancashire Constabulary in each of the last five years were for  (a) first offences,  (b) second offences and  (c) third or subsequent offences.

Gerry Sutcliffe: holding answer 24 October 2006
	It is not possible to identify the number of people who received cautions broken down by  (a) first offences,  (b) second offences and  (c) third or subsequent offences in the last five years as the data held centrally is not collected at that level of detail.
	Previous offending is, however, taken into account locally by police officers in deciding whether to issue a caution, reprimand or final warning, or refer the case to the Crown Prosecution Service.

Child Sexual Abuse

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many allegations of sexual abuse of children were made in 2005; and how many resulted in  (a) charges being brought and  (b) an individual being (i) prosecuted and (ii) convicted.

Vernon Coaker: Data for the number of allegations of sexual abuse of children is not held centrally. However information is available about the number of sexual offences recorded by the police where the offence is defined as being against a child e.g. sexual assault on a female aged under 13 years. Statistics for 2005-06 were published in Table 2.04 of "Crime in England and Wales 2005-06" in July 2006. A copy of this publication is available at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs06/hosb1206chap2.xls
	Information on the number of charges brought is also not held centrally. Court proceedings data for the number of individuals being (i) prosecuted and (ii) convicted of sexual abuse of children in 2005 will be available in November.

Departmental Expenditure

Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much the Department and its agencies have spent on  (a) the design and production of new logos and  (b) employing external (i) public relations and (ii) graphic design agencies in each year since 2000, broken down by project.

Liam Byrne: The information you require is contained in the following table.
	
		
			   Cost (£)   
			 2000-01 155,000 New Home Office corporate ID Design, research, project management and drawing-up style guidelines for printed and electronic media 
			 
			 2001-02 120,000 Criminal Records Bureau Design, production of new logos and employing external public relations 
			  2,914 Fire Service branding Design 
			  4,000 Positive Futures branding Design 
			  10,000 Drugs Prevention Advisory Service Rebrand Design 
			 
			 2002-03 200,000 Criminal Records Bureau Design, production of new logos and employing external public relations 
			 
			 2003-04 90,000 Criminal Records Bureau Employing external public relations 
			  45,200 Active Communities Unit Logo development and corporate ID 
			  35,000 Immigration and Nationality Directorate IRIS Recognition Branding Design and production 
			 
			 2004-05 5,500 Home Office Modification and update to branding guidelines 
			  46,000 National Offender Management Service Identity creation, production of artwork and branding guidelines 
			  10,500 Her Majesty's Prison Service Modification of logo and production of branding guidelines 
			  10,230 National Probation Service Modification of logo and production of branding guidelines 
			  4,998.50 Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority Logo update and literature production update 
			  21,890 Tackling Drugs, Changing Lives programme Design and production of new logo for cross government programme 
			  4,260 Senior Careers Advisory Service Design and production of new materials 
			  4,395 Immigration and Nationality Directorate Search and registration of IRIS logo 
			  15,280 CENTREX Police Training Branding Design and production 
			 2005-06 734 Senior Careers Advisory Service Final production costs related to 2004-05 work 
			  600 The Information Commissioner Logo design development 
			  10,280 Drugs Intervention Programme Production to refresh programme materials in line with core Tackling Drugs, Changing Lives cross government brand 
			  56,733 Respect Development of Respect branding including research with public and production of brand guidelines for local delivery partners 
			  3,760 CENTREX Branding Final production 
			  10,080 Criminal Justice IT Programme Design and production of materials to support programme 
			  Note:  All costs include any use of external agencies

Departmental Staff

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment the Government have made of whether the cleaners in his Department recently detained by the immigration and nationality directorate  (a) were on the electoral roll at their home addresses and  (b) had national insurance numbers; and if he will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 5 June 2006
	Prior to any operation, our normal practice is to check the details of any alleged offender against the electoral roll and where appropriate NI records. In this particular case, as the individuals were arrested immediately on Home Office premises and so no such checks were required.

Driving Licences (Criminal Records Checks)

Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Criminal Records Bureau disclosure applications for private driver licences are outstanding in the Stoke-on-Trent and Newcastle-under-Lyme area; and what the timescales are for their completion.

Joan Ryan: The information sought by the hon. Member is not available. The Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) is unable to provide information on Disclosure applications based on geographical areas.
	The CRB aims to complete all Disclosure applications within the shortest time possible, while operating to a published service standard (PSS) of issuing 90 per cent. of Standard Disclosures within10 days and 90 per cent. of Enhanced Disclosures within 28 days.
	Some Disclosures do take only a matter of days, while others can take considerably longer. There are a number of factors that can affect the timely completion of checks, including but not restricted to, the accurate completion of the application form, the clarity of the information provided and the existence of conviction or non-conviction information. A further factor is the operational effectiveness of the Disclosure Units of the police forces involved in the Enhanced Disclosure process an d the CRB publishes police force performance on its website at www.crb.gov.uk.

Drug Offenders

Dennis Skinner: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many convicted drug offenders are participating in rehabilitation schemes in prison.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Information is not available in the format requested. A survey of all prisoners engaging with the CARAT Counselling, Assessment, Referral, Advice and Throughcare. service in 2004-05 showed that 10.8 per cent. reported drug offences as their main offence.
	This is consistent with the fact that problematic drug misusers tend to be convicted of a wide range of offences rather than offences specifically against the Misuse of Drugs Act.

Final Warnings

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many people received a final warning having previously received a reprimand in each of the last five years;
	(2)  how many  (a) reprimands and  (b) final warnings were issued in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Gerry Sutcliffe: It is not possible to identify the number of people who received a final warning and who previously received a reprimand, as the data held centrally is not collected to that level of detail.
	Previous offending is, however, taken into account locally by police officers in deciding whether to issue a reprimand or final warning, or refer the case to the Crown Prosecution Service.

Fireworks

Si�n James: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many individuals have been prosecuted under the Fireworks Act 2003 in the South Wales police area, broken down by offence; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The court proceedings database held by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform shows that there have been no prosecutions reported in 2004 under the Fireworks Act 2003 in the South Wales police force area. Data for 2005 will be available in November.
	Offences under the Fireworks Act 2003 for breach of the fireworks curfew, possession of category four fireworks, and possession by a person under 18 of an adult firework can were added to the PND Scheme on 11 October 2004. However there have been no reports of penalty notices issued by South Wales police force area in 2004 and 2005 (provisional data) for these offences.

Multi-agency Public Protection Arrangements

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which agencies participate in multi-agency public protection arrangements.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA) are established by statute (the Criminal Justice  Court Services Act 2000 as amended by the Criminal Justice Act 2003). The law requires the police, prison and probation services (the Responsible Authority) in each of the 42 Areas of England and Wales to establish arrangements for the assessment and management of risk posed by certain sexual and violent offenders. It also places the following agencies under a duty to co-operate with the Responsible Authority:
	youth offending teams;
	the Ministers of the Crown exercising functions in relation to social
	security, child support, war pensions, employment and training (at a local level the duty effectively lies with Jobcentre Plus);
	local education authorities;
	local housing authorities or social services authorities;
	registered social landlords who provide or manage residential accommodation in which MAPPA offenders reside or may reside;
	health authorities or strategic health authorities;
	primary care trusts or local health boards;
	NHS trusts; and
	Electronic monitoring services providers.
	The Strategic Management Board for each area, led by the Responsible Authority and which now includes lay advisers, is required to keep the arrangements under review, which will include ensuring participation within MAPPA.

Police Cells

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what nightly rate is paid by the Immigration Service for the use of police cells to each police force.

Liam Byrne: Immigration Service opened negotiations in October 2005, directly with a number of police forces, about the rates they charge for the use of police cells and discussions continue. The negotiations are based on a standard charging methodology which takes account of local circumstances. The following table shows, in ranges, the rates payable as at the date of the request, and indicates where rates have been agreed as a result of the negotiations since October 2005.
	
		
			  Police force  
			  Range: Up to 199 per 24 hours  
			 Avon and Somerset Negotiated Rate 
			 Bedfordshire Negotiated Rate 
			 Cambridgeshire Negotiated Rate 
			 Cheshire Negotiated Rate 
			 Cleveland Negotiated Rate 
			 Cumbria  
			 Essex Negotiated Rate 
			 Gloucestershire Negotiated Rate 
			 Hertfordshire Negotiated Rate 
			 Lancashire Negotiated Rate 
			 Leicestershire Negotiated Rate 
			 Norfolk  
			 North Yorkshire Negotiated Rate 
			 Wiltshire Negotiated Rate 
			   
			  Range : 200 to 299 per 24 hours  
			 Dyfed Powys  
			 Gwent  
			 Nottinghamshire  
			 Northumbria  
			 Northern Ireland  
			 Warwickshire  
			   
			  Range: 300 to 399 per 24 hours  
			 Devon and Cornwall  
			 Greater Manchester  
			 Hampshire  
			 Humberside  
			 Lincolnshire  
			 Northamptonshire  
			 Staffordshire  
			 West Midlands  
			 West Mercia  
			   
			  Range 400 to 499 per 24 hours  
			 Dorset  
			 Kent  
			 South Yorkshire  
			 Thames Valley  
			   
			  Range: 500 to 1,000 per 24 hours  
			 Grampian  
			 Highland council  
			 Metropolitan  
			 North Wales  
			 West Yorkshire  
			 South Wales  
			 Surrey  
			 Sussex  
			   
			  Over 1,000  
			 Merseyside  
			  Notes:  (i) There are small variations to rates depending on individual circumstances of detentions (e.g. number of meals, clothing required, length of stay, etc), hence why rates are banded rather than provided as specific figures; (ii) Different rates apply to the hire of full custody suites, as opposed to utilising existing facilities; (iii) In most cases, interpreter and medical examination costs are charged separately at cost, in addition to the above rates; (iv) Those police forces which do not charge or to whom payments made are ad hoc/for incidentals only are not shown. (v) Merseyside police have not been invoicing due to administrative difficulties and have only recently been approached about the level of their charges.

Prison Resettlement Programmes

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the effect of delays in categorising inmates on the work of effective resettlement programmes in prisons; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: holding answer 24 October 2006
	All convicted prisoners must be categorised as soon as possible after sentencing. Arrangements are in place to ensure that documents vital to the risk assessment process, without which categorisation cannot proceed, are obtained as quickly as possible.
	We are not aware of any significant delays in the categorisation process which may affect access to resettlement programmes available in prisons.
	
		
			  Number of penalty notices for disorder issued in the Lancashire constabulary area for offences under the Fireworks Act 2003, broken down by offence in 2004 and 2005( 1,2) 
			  Offence  2004  2005  2006( 3) 
			 Breach of the fireworks curfew 2 2 1 
			 Possession of category 4 fireworks 0 1 1 
			 Possession by a person under 18 of an adult firework 1 5 0 
			 (1) These data are on the principal offence basis.(2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the police forces and courts. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.(3) Provisional data from January to June 2006.

Prisons

Robert Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Category  (a) A,  (b) B,  (c) C and  (d) D prisoners there were in each of the last four quarters in England and Wales.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Information on the numbers of prisoners held in prison establishments in England and Wales in the four quarters between September 2005 and June 2006, as provided by the prison IT system, is shown in the following table.
	The figures provided have been drawn from administrative IT systems. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system, and the totals have been rounded.
	
		
			  Population( 1)  of category A, B, C, and D prisoners at prison establishments in England and Wales 
			   Category A  Category B  Category C  Category D 
			 September 2005 700 8,200 34,450 5,400 
			 December 2005 700 8,300 34,000 5,000 
			 March 2006 650 8,550 35,000 5,000 
			 June 2006 700 8,650 35,700 4,800 
			 (1)Totals will not add to total prison numbers because (i) many prisoners recently sentenced are under assessment for security classification; and (ii) the security categories do not apply to remand prisoners, women, or young offenders.

Prisons

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which prisons reported a serious drug problem in the last period for which figures are available; what action is being taking to reduce the level of drugs in prisons; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The best measure of drug misuse in prisons is provided by the random mandatory drug testing (MDT) programme. The year to date percentage positive rates for each prison is given in the following table.
	A comprehensive series of measures is in place to reduce the supply and demand of drugs by prisoners including:
	 Supply Reduction
	passive and active drug dogs;
	closed circuit television systems and fixed and low-level furniture;
	closed visits and visit bans on visitors suspected of smuggling drugs;
	searching strategies;
	sharing of intelligence with police about drug routes into prisons;
	the use of the Supply Reduction Good Practice Guide; and
	mandatory and voluntary drug testing programmes.
	 Demand Reduction
	Clinical management of substance misuse;
	Counselling, Assessment, Referral, Advice and Through-care services; and
	Drug treatment programmes
	
		
			  Random MDT percentage positive rates (April to November 2005) 
			   Percentage 
			 Brixton 30.6 
			 Forest Bank 27.2 
			 Leyhill 25.7 
			 North Sea Camp 23.7 
			 Kirkham 22.5 
			 Ashwell 20.9 
			 Featherstone 20.9 
			 Preston 20.7 
			 Liverpool 19.9 
			 Hollesley Bay 19.8 
			 Thorn Cross 19.1 
			 Wellingborough 19.0 
			 Nottingham 18.4 
			 Pentonville 18.3 
			 Birmingham 17.5 
			 Blakenhurst 17.5 
			 Camp Hill 17.4 
			 Coldingley 17.3 
			 Wealstun 17.1 
			 Maidstone 17.0 
			 Highpoint 16.6 
			 Leeds 16.6 
			 Shrewsbury 16.5 
			 Hull 16.4 
			 Haverigg 16.3 
			 Parkhurst 16.1 
			 Rye Hill 16.0 
			 Durham 15.9 
			 Blundeston 15.8 
			 Guys Marsh 15.8 
			 Gloucester 15.6 
			 Dovegate 15.3 
			 Peterborough (Male) 15.3 
			 Norwich 15.2 
			 Bedford 15.1 
			 Erlestoke 14.6 
			 Low Newton 14.4 
			 Wandsworth 14.4 
			 Kingston 14.2 
			 Ford 14.0 
			 Sudbury 14.0 
			 Onley 13.9 
			 Wormwood Scrubs 13.9 
			 Brockhill 13.6 
			 High Down 13.1 
			 Lincoln 13.1 
			 Dorchester 12.6 
			 Garth 12.5 
			 Exeter 12.1 
			 Acklington 11.9 
			 Styal 11.9 
			 Winchester 11.9 
			 Cardiff 11.8 
			 Canterbury 11.6 
			 Spring Hill 11.5 
			 Eastwood Park 11.4 
			 Manchester 11.3 
			 Stocken 11.3 
			 Standford Hill 11.2 
			 Swansea 11.2 
			 Risley 11.0 
			 Altcourse 10.9 
			 Bristol 10.9 
			 Bullingdon 10.7 
			 Long Lartin 10.7 
			 National Rate 10.7 
			 Chelmsford 10.3 
			 Stafford 10.3 
			 Belmarsh 10.1 
			 Peterborough (Female) 10.1 
			 Wymott 9.8 
			 Holme House 9.5 
			 Castington 9.3 
			 Feltham 9.3 
			 Moorland Open 9.1 
			 Mount 9.1 
			 Bronzefield 9.0 
			 Leicester 9.0 
			 Lewes 9.0 
			 Dartmoor 8.4 
			 Lancaster Farms 8.2 
			 Ranby 8.2 
			 Lindholme 7.8 
			 Parc 7.8 
			 Brinsford 7.7 
			 Everthorpe 7.1 
			 Foston Hall 7.0 
			 Swaleside 7.0 
			 New Hall 6.9 
			 Holloway 6.8 
			 Lowdham Grange 6.8 
			 Doncaster 6.6 
			 Hewell Grange 6.2 
			 Woodhill 5.9 
			 Werrington 5.8 
			 Channings Wood 5.7 
			 Swinfen Hall 5.6 
			 Elmley 5.1 
			 Rochester 5.1 
			 Usk\Prescoed 5.1 
			 Weare 4.8 
			 Portland 4.4 
			 Glen Parva 4.2 
			 Hindley 4.2 
			 Littlehey 4.1 
			 East Sutton Park 3.7 
			 Aylesbury 3.6 
			 Huntercombe 3.5 
			 Reading 3.5 
			 Whitemoor 3.4 
			 Moorland 3.3 
			 Wayland 3.2 
			 Deerbolt 3.1 
			 Lancaster 3.1 
			 Wakefield 2.9 
			 Edmunds Hill 2.8 
			 Buckley Hall 2.7 
			 Frankland 2.6 
			 Askham Grange 2.5 
			 Bullwood Hall 2.5 
			 Latchmere House 2.4 
			 Warren Hill 2.4 
			 Full Sutton 2.2 
			 Gartree 2.2 
			 Stoke Heath 2.2 
			 Whatton 2.0 
			 Drake Hall 1.7 
			 Kirklevington 1.7 
			 Cookham Wood 1.5 
			 Downview 1.5 
			 Wetherby 1.5 
			 Albany 1.4 
			 Shepton Mallet 1.4 
			 Northallerton 1.3 
			 Verne 1.3 
			 Ashfield 1.2 
			 Grendon 0.9 
			 Morton Hall 0.8 
			 Wolds 0.8 
			 Send 0.6 
			 Blantyre House 0.0

Prisons

Peter Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 13 July 2006,  Official Report, columns 2030-1W, on prisons, if he will make it his policy to collect centrally information on discharges from HM prisons.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The new National Offender Management Service computer system being rolled out across the prison estate in England and Wales by the end of 2008 will provide this facility. It will also assist in providing central identification of prisoners who return to custody having been unlawfully at large.

Probation Service

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people are serving on the Hampshire Probation Board; when the term of office of each person serving ends; how many vacancies there are on the board; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The number of members serving onthe Hampshire Probation Board totals 13 including the chair; of these 11 members' terms expire on the31 March 2007 and two members of the boardwere appointed from 31 January 2006 and can serve to 30 January 2009 before seeking reappointment for a second and final term. The 13 serving members exclude the judge (appointed by the Department for (Constitutional Affairs) and the chief officer who serves on the board ex officio.

Safety Cameras

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many and what percentage of successful convictions were made in each year since 1997 for speeding offences on the basis of successfully recorded photographs.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Data from 1997-2004 (latest available) are given in the table.
	2005 data will be available early in 2007.
	
		
			  Number and proportion of total findings of guilt( 1)  at magistrates courts for speed limit offences( 2) , England and Wales, 1997-2004 
			  Number of offences 
			   Speed limit offences( 2)  Of which: Detected by camera( 3,4) 
			   Number  Percentage  Number  Percentage 
			 1997 132,800 100 43,800 33 
			 1998 153,500 100 59,100 39 
			 1999 153,600 100 68,300 44 
			 2000 141,400 100 96,700 68 
			 2001(5) 135,600 100 121,800 90 
			 2002 124,600 100 86,500 69 
			 2003 140,000 100 106,200 76 
			 2004 143,200 100 102,000 71 
			 (1) Includes cases where fixed penalty notices were originally issued but not paid and subsequently referred to court.(2) Offences under the Road Traffic Regulations Act 1984 and Motor Vehicles (Speed Limits on Motorways) Regulations 1973.(3) Estimated from combining data from OCJR's Court Proceedings Database and separate data from the police.(4) Automatic cameras until 1998, all camera types from 1999.(5) Following successful pilots the safety camera programme was rolled out nationally from August 2001. By the end of 2004, 39 police forces had joined the scheme. Note:Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their Inevitable limitations are taken into account when these data are used.

Safety Cameras

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what proportion of speed camera tickets were issued to drivers under the age of 25 years in the last period for which figures are available;
	(2)  how many fixed penalty notices were issued for speeding offences caught by  (a) speed cameras and  (b) traffic officers in each year since 1997; how many fixed penalty notices were paid in relation to speeding offences; how many court proceedings were started in relation to speeding offences; and how many (i) guilty and (ii) not guilty verdicts were reached in relation to speeding offences.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Data collated centrally on fixed penalty notices issued do not identify the age of offenders.
	Fixed penalty notices issued for speeding offences by detection method is provided in Table A. This shows the number of 'substantive' fixed penalty notices issued i.e. where a conditional offer is accepted (paid).
	Information on fixed penalty notices not paid is collected centrally by type of notice (endorsable or non-endorsable) only and not by type of offence.
	Court proceedings data on speed limit offences by result are given in Table B. 2005 data will be available early in 2007.
	
		
			  Table A: Fixed penalty notices issued( 1)  for speed limit offences( 2)  by detection method, England and Wales, 1997-2004 
			  Number of offences 
			  Detection method  Detected by camera( 3)  Not by camera( 4)  Total 
			 1997 288,600 424,200 712,800 
			 1998 338,800 442,200 781,000 
			 1999 423,000 382,500 805,500 
			 2000 599,200 342,500 941,700 
			 2001 877,500 273,600 1,151,100 
			 2002 1,135,400 271,900 1,407,300 
			 2003 1,670,000 224,800 1,894,800 
			 2004 1,786,000 138,400 1,924,400 
			 (1) Paid i.e., no further action.(2) Offences under the Road Traffic Regulations Act 1984 and Motor Vehicles (Speed Limits on Motorways) Regulations 1973.(3) Automatic cameras until 1998, all camera types from 1999.(4) By traffic police observation. Note:Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when these data are used. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table B: Number of proceedings( 1)  at magistrates courts for speed limit offences( 2 ) by outcome, England and Wales, 1997-2004 
			  Number of offences 
			   Total proceedings( 1)  Proceedings discontinued( 3)  Charge withdrawn( 4)  Charge dismissed( 5)  Findings of guilt 
			 1997 143,400 700 8,000 700 132,800 
			 1998 166,200 800 9,200 900 153,500 
			 1999 168,100 800 11,500 900 153,600 
			 2000 154,700 700 11,000 900 141,400 
			 2001 150,300 800 12,000 1,300 135,600 
			 2002 144,200 900 17,100 1,000 124,600 
			 2003 165,500 1,100 22,300 1,700 140,000 
			 2004 172,300 1,200 26,000 1,600 143,200 
			 (1) Includes cases where fixed penalty notices were originally issued but not paid and subsequently referred to court.(2) Offences under the Road Traffic Regulations Act 1984 and Motor Vehicles (Speed Limits on Motorways) Regulations 1973.(3) Discontinuance of proceedings under S23(3) Prosecution of Offences Act 1985.(4) No evidence offered, not proceeded against or charge withdrawn.(5) Information dismissed under S9 Magistrates' Courts Act 1980. Notes:1. It is known that for some police force areas, the reporting of court proceedings in particular those relating to summary motoring offences, may be less than complete.2. Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when these data are used.

Connect to Your Council Campaign

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the cost was of the Connect to Your Council campaign; and what assessment she has made of the effect of the campaign on demand for online services.

Angela Smith: The Connect to your Council Take-Up campaign was launched in England in May 2006 with a 3.4 million media budget. Market research commissioned by the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) from Taylor Nelson Sofres (TNS) shows that 21 per cent. of respondents who were able to recall the advertising declared that they had already visited their council website as a result of the Connect to your Council campaign. This translates into 1.3 million visits to the campaign home page and other local government pages of the Directgov website during the first burst of advertising between May to July 2006, with an increase of 88 per cent. in people accessing council websites from one in 11 of the adult population in England pre-campaign to one in six post campaign. Copies of the Central Office of Information (COI) evaluation report on the impact of the first burst of the campaign are available from the DCLG website.

Household Numbers

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment she has made of the factors underlying the change in the number of households since 1990-91.

Yvette Cooper: An analysis of the components of growth in household numbers between 1991 and 2003 is listed as follows. Household growth has been split into the four principal factors generating additional households.
	The components are:
	 (a) the projected growth of the total adult private household population;
	 (b) the change in the age structure of the population;
	 (c) changes in the marital status of the population, including proportions cohabiting, as well as legal marital status; and
	 (d) changes in household formation rates specific for age, sex, legal marital status and cohabitation.
	The figures include a remainder which shows the change due to interaction between the components, for instance, the combined effect of increasing population and changes in the age distribution.
	
		
			  Components of household growth: England: 1991 to 2003 
			   Percentage 
			 Growth in the adult population 55 
			 Aging population 27 
			 Marital status distribution -14 
			 Household formation rates 16 
			 Interaction of the components (remainder) 16

Housing

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what percentage of building on brownfield sites took place on residential land in  (a) Bournemouth and  (b) Dorset in each of the last five years.

Yvette Cooper: The information available is from the Department's land use change statistics.
	Estimated proportions are shown in the following table:
	
		
			  Percentage 
			   Bournemouth  Dorset 
			   New dwellings on previously residential land as a proportion of all dwellings  Proportion of new dwellings on Greenfield land  Proportion of new dwellings on Brownfield land  New dwellings on previously residential land as a proportion of all dwellings  Proportion of new dwellings on Greenfield land  Proportion of new dwellings on Brownfield land 
			 1990 76 5 95 41 45 55 
			 1991 45 39 61 29 58 42 
			 1992 45 7 93 33 42 58 
			 1993 17 10 90 19 46 54 
			 1994 16 50 50 20 49 51 
			
			 1995 24 9 91 18 48 52 
			 1996 51 8 92 30 49 51 
			 1997 35 23 77 23 48 52 
			 1998 43 7 93 28 37 63 
			 1999 61 2 92 33 37 63 
			
			 2000 39 17 83 28 48 52 
			 2001 31 5 95 29 35 65 
			 2002 38 3 97 31 30 70 
			 2003 46  100 33 26 74 
			 2004 67  100 34 35 65 
			
			  Average   
			 2000-04 43 4 96 31 33 67 
		
	
	The proportions are variable from year to year. The average over a five year period is more representative for any comparisons between local authorities.

Housing

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Hammersmith and Fulham, of 4 September 2006,  Official Report, column 1661W, on housing, what the size of the clusters used is in the analysis; and whether the clusters are co-terminus with local government wards.

Yvette Cooper: The clusters derived by the Office for National Statistics used in the DCLG house price index vary considerably in size from a few local authorities to over 40 local authorities.

Housing

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many affordable homes have been built since 1990-91; how many more are planned in each year until 2009; and if she will make a statement.

Yvette Cooper: The following table shows the number of affordable homes that have been provided in each year since 1991-92 through Housing Corporation's Affordable Housing Programme, Local Authority Social Housing Grant, Starter Home Initiative and by local authorities.
	
		
			   Number of affordable homes 
			 1991-92 29,674 
			 1992-93 65,721 
			 1993-94 63,736 
			 1994-95 70,390 
			 1995-96 74,530 
			 1996-97 56,506 
			 1997-98 47,269 
			 1998-99 42,328 
			 1999-2000 33,748 
			 2000-01 30,955 
			 2001-02 29,924 
			 2002-03 30,087 
			 2003-04 33,654 
			 2004-05 31,328 
			 2005-06 37,515 
			 2006-07(1) 37,700 
			 2007-08(1) 47,000 
			 (1) Figures for 2006-07 and 2007-08 are estimates.   Source:  Housing Corporation and P2m/P2Q returns from local authorities 
		
	
	These figures include both new build and those acquired and refurbished for affordable housing.
	We are on course to deliver the Spending Review 2004 targets of 30,000 social rented homes a year by 2008 and to help over 100,000 people into home ownership by 2010. The Housing Corporation has a target to deliver 28,000 social rented homes and 19,263 low cost home ownership homes through the Affordable Housing Programme in 2007-08 to contribute towards these targets. Other programmes will take this to 30,000 social rented homes and 24,000 low cost home ownership homes by 2007-08.
	The number of homes to be provided from 2008-09 will be the subject of the Comprehensive Spending Review 2007 in which the provision of social rented homes will be a priority.

Housing

Helen Southworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  what percentage of new homes built in  (a) Warrington,  (b) Cheshire and  (c) the North West were (i) one or two bedroom apartments and (ii) affordable family houses in each of the last three years; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  how many affordable family homes have been built in  (a) Warrington,  (b) Cheshire and  (c) the North West in each of the last three years.

Yvette Cooper: Information on the percentage of new build dwellings by type and number of bedrooms is published on the Department for Communities and Local Government website: http://www.communities. gov.uk/pub/65/Table252Excel312Kb_id1156065.xls. The figures are only available at regional level.
	The following table shows the numbers of newly built affordable housing units provided in Warrington, Cheshire and the North West. Information on how many of these were 'family homes' in not available centrally. During the three year period 2003-04 to 2005-06 a further 1,433 affordable housing units were provided in the North West region through refurbishment programmes which are not included in the numbers in the table.
	
		
			   Warrington new build  Cheshire new build  North-west region new build 
			   New build affordable housing units  Proportion of total house building  New build affordable housing units  Proportion of total house building  New build affordable housing units  Proportion of total house building 
			 2003-04 90 13 112 6 1,454 8 
			 2004-05 43 7 246 14 1,769 10 
			 2005-06 148 14 193 10 2,262 11 
			  Note: Cheshire county includes the local authorities Chester, Congleton, Crewe and Nantwich, Ellesmere Port and Neston, Macclesfield and Vale Royal. Source: National House Building Council, Housing Corporation, Local Authorities. 
		
	
	Through the Housing Corporation's Affordable Housing Programme for 2006-08 total allocations have been given to provide a further 3,800 affordable homes for social rent and low cost home ownership (both new build and acquisition and refurbishment) in the North West Region, of which around 400 will be provided in Cheshire and 40 in Warrington.

Housing

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will reduce the housing unit threshold for requiring affordable housing in new rural communities.

Yvette Cooper: It is for local planning authorities to decide, taking account of their assessment of housing need, and other evidence about local circumstances, their approach to planning for affordable housing, including in rural areas. In the context of a national indicative minimum threshold of 15 units DPS3 says that local planning authorities may set lower thresholds for rural areas if this can be justified.
	The final PPS3, will be published later this year.

Housing

Helen Southworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many shared equity homes have been  (a) built and  (b) made available on the market in (i) Warrington and (ii) Cheshire in each of the last three years.

Yvette Cooper: The following table shows homes provided via the Housing Corporation's Affordable Housing Programme and Local Authority Social Housing Grant through shared equity in both Warrington and Cheshire in each of the last three years.
	
		
			   Warrington UA  Cheshire( 1) 
			  2003-04   
			 Shared ownership 0 14 
			 Open market purchase 0 1 
			
			  2004-05   
			 Shared ownership 0 18 
			 Open market purchase 0 0 
			
			  2005-06   
			 Shared ownership 0 37 
			 Open market purchase 0 1 
			 (1) Cheshire, for the purposes of this response, includes the following local authorities:  Chester, Congleton, Crewe and Nantwich, Ellesmere Port and Neston, Macclesfield and Vale Royal. 
		
	
	Shared ownership includes both new build and those acquired and refurbished.
	Allocations provided through the Housing Corporation's Affordable Housing Programme 2006-08 are expected to deliver eight new build HomeBuy (formerly shared ownership) units in Warrington and 148 new build HomeBuy properties in Cheshire.

Local Government Finance

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate she has made of total council tax revenue raised by local authorities from charging on second homes in each year since 2001-02; and if she will make a statement.

Phil Woolas: The revenue raised by local authorities charging on second homes is as follows:
	
		
			  Council tax revenue from second homes 
			million 
			 2002-03 81.1 
			 2003-04 120.9 
			 2004-05 214.6 
			 2005-06 231.0 
		
	
	These figures are estimates based on information reported by local authorities on the CTB1 and CTB1(S) forms.
	Second homes figures for 2001-02 are not available on a robust basis.

Right to Buy Scheme

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many  (a) houses and  (b) flats formerly owned by local authorities have been sold under the right to buy since the scheme's inception; and what the total value is at current prices of discounts in the period.

Yvette Cooper: The right-to-buy scheme (RTB) became available to tenants in October 1980. Local authorities in England report the number of sales, amount of money received and the discount given to Department for Communities and Local Government on a quarterly basis. This return is not statutory, but generally levels of response are greater than 90 per cent.. In order to get a consistent estimate of RTB activity DCLG make estimates for missing LA returns. At the time of request, it is estimated that there had been a total of 1,734,940 right-to-buy sales in England between October 1980 and March 2006.
	Reliable information concerning the money received and discount given on RTB activity is only held from the financial year 1998-99 onwards. In England between March 1998 and March 2006 it is estimated that there have been 408,000 right-to-buy sales raising 20,400 million in capital receipts after discounts worth around 14,300 million given (2005-06 prices). The Housing Act of 1985 allows the Secretary of State to amend RTB discount levels by way of an Order. Full details of recent reductions in discount levels can be viewed on the web:
	http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2003/20030498.htm
	http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/sil998/19982997.htm
	Reliable information on the number of RTB flat sales and the discount given on flats is not available however around one quarter of council properties sold through all schemes are flats.
	 Note: Figures used for the financial year 2005-06 are provisional.

Household Statistics

Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many  (a) children and  (b) pensioners were recorded as living in poverty in (i) the UK, (ii) the North, (iii) South Tyneside and (iv) Jarrow constituency in each year since 1996.

Jim Murphy: Specific information regarding low income for Great Britain is available in 'Households Below Average Income 1994-95-2004-05'. The threshold of below 60 per cent. contemporary median income is the most commonly used in reporting trends in low income.
	The data source does not allow us to provide robust estimates for estimates below the level of Government Office Region.
	The numbers of children and pensioners in households with low incomes, in Great Britain, the North and the North East over the period 1996-97 to 2004-05, are presented in Tables 1 and 2. Estimates are shown before and after housing costs.
	
		
			  Table1: Number of children living in low income households 1996-97 to 2004-05 
			  Million 
			   1996-97  1997-98  1998-99  1999-2000  2000-01  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05 
			  Before housing costs  
			 Great Britain 3.17 3.13 3.10 2.97 2.67 2.62 2.61 2.57 2.44 
			 The North 0.92 0.93 0.99 0.99 0.93 0.83 0.80 0.78 0.74 
			 North East 0.18 0.18 0.18 0.18 0.18 0.15 0.16 0.15 0.15 
			   
			  After housing costs  
			 Great Britain 4.23 4.11 4.13 4.06 3.84 3.73 3.56 3.48 3.42 
			 The North 1.14 1.16 1.20 1.20 1.15 1.06 1.02 0.98 0.93 
			 North East 0.22 0.22 0.22 0.22 0.22 0.19 0.19 0.17 0.17 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Number of pensioners living in low income households 1996-97 to 2004-05 
			  Million 
			   1996-97  1997-98  1998-99  1999-2000  2000-01  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05 
			  Before housing costs  
			 Great Britain 2.20 2.26 2.37 2.28 2.21 2.31 2.27 2.16 2.03 
			 The North 0.59 0.59 0.61 0.62 0.62 0.60 0.60 0.58 0.55 
			 North East 0.11 0.10 0.10 0.11 0.12 0.12 0.11 0.10 0.09 
			   
			  After housing costs  
			 Great Britain 2.78 2.73 2.74 2.62 2.46 2.35 2.26 2.03 1.77 
			 The North 0.70 0.72 0.74 0.72 0.69 0.64 0.59 0.55 0.49 
			 North East 0.14 0.14 0.14 0.13 0.13 0.12 0.11 0.10 0.08 
			  Notes:1. Numbers, for the regions, are presented using a three-year moving average, as single-year estimates do not provide a robust guide to year-on-year changes. Hence, figures are not consistent with any previously published single-year estimates and there may be differences in changes over time. In circumstances such as a change in trend, moving averages will show less variation than single-year estimates.2. The table shows number of children in millionsrounded to the nearest 10 thousand.3. In this answer low income is determined for children as living in households with incomes below 60 per cent. of the GB median.4. The North is comprised of; the North East, North West and Merseyside and Yorkshire and the Number Government Office Regions.5. North East is the single Government Office Region.6. Numbers, for the regions, are presented using a three-year moving average, as single-year estimates do not provide a robust guide to year-on-year changes. Hence, figures are not consistent with any previously published single-year estimates and there may be differences in changes over time. In circumstances such as a change in trend, moving averages will show less variation than single-year estimates.7. The table shows number of pensioners in millionsrounded to the nearest 10,000.8. In this answer low income is determined for pensioners as living in households with incomes below 60 per cent of the GB median.9. The North is comprised of; the North East, North West and Merseyside and Yorkshire and the Number Government Office Regions.10. North East is the single Government Office Region. Source: Family Resources Survey

Jobcentre Plus

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  in what circumstances Jobcentre Plus visiting officers are dispatched to the home of a benefit claimant; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  how many requests for a clerical claim in a Jobcentre Plus there have been in the East Riding of Yorkshire in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  how many and what proportion of requests for a clerical claim in a Jobcentre Plus in the East Riding of Yorkshire have been refused in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement;
	(4)  in what circumstances requests for a clerical claim in a Jobcentre Plus are accepted; and if he will make a statement;
	(5)  how many and what proportion of requests for a visit by a Jobcentre Plus visiting officer by a benefit claimant in the East Riding of Yorkshire have been refused in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement;
	(6)  how many requests have been made by benefit claimants for a visit by Jobcentre Plus visiting officers in the East Riding of Yorkshire in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement;
	(7)  how many visits there have been by Jobcentre Plus visiting officers to benefit claimants in the East Riding of Yorkshire in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement;
	(8)  how many Jobcentre Plus visiting officers there are in the East Riding of Yorkshire; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Murphy: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus, Lesley Strathie. I have asked her to provide the hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Lesley Strathie, dated 2 November 2006:
	The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your eight questions asking about clerical claims and home visits. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
	Any person requesting to make a clerical claim for a working age benefit can do so by filling in a clerical claim form. When handling such requests Jobcentre Plus staff will advise that other ways of initiating a claim are available and that these might be more convenient. Alternatives include claiming by telephone, which is our preferred channel, and claiming face to face.
	Our Management Information does not record the number of requests made by our customers to complete clerical claim forms or whether or not a request for a clerical claim has been refused.
	If a customer is unable to visit a Jobcentre Plus office because of a health condition or a disability, and they are unable to use the telephone or ask a third party to act on their behalf, home visits can be made to help conduct Jobcentre Plus business. Home visits can also be made where there is a suspicion of fraud.
	There are currently six officers deployed on visiting duties covering the Hull and East Riding area including Beverley and Holderness. All requests for visits are carefully considered and where the customer is unable to access other channels for claiming benefit, such as using the telephone or attending a Jobcentre Plus office in person, then a home visit would be arranged. I should stress however that home visits are undertaken by exception, most customers prefer to use the other options available to progress their benefit claim.
	We do not record the number of requests for visits and numbers refused. However, I can assure you that all requests for visits are carefully considered. The North East Yorkshire and Hull Jobcentre Plus District that includes the East Riding of Yorkshire has, in the six months up to September 2006, undertaken 4,771 home visits. This includes 790 visits instigated after receipt of a claim form where it was apparent that a visit was required to help progress the claim. Statistics on the number of visits carried out were not kept before April 2006.

Armed Forces Pensions

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much was spent on the armed forces pension scheme in each year since 1980-81; what forecasts he has made of how much will be spent in each year between 2007-08 and 2050-51; and how many members of the scheme there are.

Derek Twigg: The first set of resource accounts produced for the armed forces pension scheme (AFPS) was for financial year 1998-99. None were produced prior to this. The actual net resource costs (in accordance with accounting standards) and estimated costs (based on statistical and actuarial evaluation) are detailed in the following table. Figures for future years could only be provided at disproportionate cost. The published accounts for the AFPS show the overall provision for future scheme liability.
	
		
			  Financial year  Net resource costs () 
			  Actual costs  
			 1998-99(1) 1,149,451 
			 1999-2000 1,208,063 
			 2001-02 1,381,772 
			 2002-03 1,333,631 
			 2003-04 3,481,850 
			 2004-05 3,294,301 
			 2005-06 4,341,400 
			   
			  Estimated costs  
			 2006-07 4,588,662 
			 2007-08 4,756,731 
			 2008-09 4,928,911 
			 2009-10 5,105,349 
			 (1) The accounts for financial year 1998-99 were un-audited as this was regarded as the dry run for resource accounting within the Ministry of Defence. The current membership of the AFPS as at 31 March 2006 (taken from published AFPS resource accounts 2005-06) is 840,364. This is made up of the following: a. Active members (serving personnel)193,310 b. Deferred members (former personnel entitled to future AFPS benefits)296,633 c. Pensions in payment (former personnel, widow(er)s etc receiving AFPS benefits)350,421

Hearing Loss

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what research he has undertaken into  (a) the number of additional claims for compensation and war disablement pensions on the grounds of hearing loss which would be paid if the threshold were lowered to (i) 44dB and (ii) 35dB and  (b) what the additional cost would be.

Derek Twigg: It is not possible to define the number of additional claims for compensation and war disablement pensions if the noise-induced hearing loss compensation threshold was lowered to 44dB or 35db. However, following a series of meeting with officials my predecessor wrote to the Royal National Institute for the Deaf (RNID) on 17 March 2006 informing them that it would cost the MOD in the region of140 million per year if the Department reduced its noise-induced hearing loss compensation threshold to 35dB. This figure was based on data, for 30 June 2005, from the war pension computer system which shows approximately 105,000 cases with an overall assessment of between 1 per cent. and sixty per cent. with NISHL accepted as attributable to service. It does not take account of cases for which there are no records held on the computer system, or any new claims that will be made if the compensation threshold is reduced.
	All of the research work so far undertaken by the Ministry of Defence into the number of additional claims for compensation and war disablement pensions on the grounds of noise-induced hearing loss has been on the impact of lowering the compensation threshold to 35db. There has to date been no research into the impact of a reduced compensation threshold of 44db.

UK/US Defence Trade

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the value of UK  (a) exports and  (b) imports of (i) defence material and (ii) defence services to the US was in the last year for which figures are available.

Adam Ingram: The values of the physical exports of defence equipment from the UK to the USA are reported in the Annual Reports on the United Kingdom Strategic Export Controls. The figures are derived by HM Revenue and Customs according to an agreed set of tariff codes for Defence equipment. HM Revenue and Customs also produce figures for equipment imports to the UK from the USA. The figures for 2005 are provided in the following table:
	
		
			  2005 
			million 
			 Exports 309 
			 Imports 309 
		
	
	We only have very limited and partial figures for imports and exports of defence services between the UK and USA produced as part of the Ministry of Defence Estimated Balance of Payments for Trade in Services. For 2005 these data show the value of services recorded under MOD Estimated Balance of Payments for imported services from USA was 456 million and the exported services was 252 million.

DHL Contracts

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what contracts her Department has entered into with DHL.

Andy Burnham: Identifying any and all contracts the Department has entered into with DHL would only possible at disproportionate costs.
	Most recently, the NHS Business Services Authority has entered into a contract for national health service supply chain services with Exel Europe Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of DHL.

Health Statistics (Hartlepool/Tees Valley)

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many women in  (a) Hartlepool constituency and  (b) the Tees Valley sub-region gave birth via caesarean section in each of the last 10 years.

Ivan Lewis: The following table shows the number of finished consultant episodes via caesarean section for the trusts in the former County Durham and Tees Valley strategic health authority area.
	
		
			  Number of finished consultant episodes of deliveries via caesarean section by trust. NHS Hospitals: England, 1995-96 to 2004-05 
			  Trust  County Durham and Darlington Acute Hospital NHS Trust  North Durham Health Care and South Durham Health Care  North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Trust  South Tees Hospitals NHS Trust 
			 1995-96 
			 1996-97 
			 1997-98 
			 1998-99  774   
			 1999-2000  824 287  
			 2000-01  852 511  
			 2001-02  956 ?  
			 2002-03 1,772  638 1,975 
			 2003-04 1,441  639 1,789 
			 2004-05 1,873  678 2,454 
			  Notes:  1. RXP was set up in 2002-03 by merging RR9 and RTA. Therefore figures for 2001-02 and earlier years up to 1998-99 are the total activity for RR9 and RTA. It is not possible to provide comparable data for RTR in years earlier than 2002-03 due to a complex merger that took place to set up RTR in 2002-03. RVW did not exist prior to 1999-2000. There is no data in the HES database for RVW for 2001-02.  2. Finished consultant episode (FCE). An FCE is defined as a period of admitted patient care under one consultant within one health care provider. Please note that the figures do not represent the number of patients, as a person may have more than one episode of care within the year.  3. Ungrossed data. Figures have not been adjusted for shortfalls in data (i.e. the data are ungrossed).  4. Delivery methods used: 7 = Elective caesarean section (caesarean section before or at the onset of labour) 8 = Emergency caesarean section.   Source:  Hospital Episode Statistics (HES). The Information Centre for Health  Social Care

Health Statistics (Hartlepool/Tees Valley)

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many women from the top decile of deprived wards in  (a) Hartlepool constituency and  (b) the Tees Valley sub-region gave birth in each of the last five years.

Ivan Lewis: The information requested is not available in the format requested. The table shows the number of patients who gave birth from the top 10 per cent. of deprived wards where residence was Hartlepool Primary Care Trust (PCT) or the former County Durham and Tees Valley Strategic Health Authority (SHA).
	
		
			  Data for NHS hospitals England for 2000-01 to 2004-05 
			  Data year  Hartlepool PCT  County Durham and Tees Valley SHA 
			 2000-01 530 3,966 
			 2001-02 506 3,690 
			 2002-03 473 3,538 
			 2003-04 470 3,485 
			 2004-05 518 3,544 
			  Notes:  1. Ungrossed data Figures have not been adjusted for shortfalls in data (i.e., the data are ungrossed)  2. Patient Counts Patient counts are based on the unique patient identifier HESID. This identifier is derived based on patient's date of birth, postcode, sex, local patient identifier and national health service number, using an agreed algorithm. Where data are incomplete, HESID might erroneously link episodes or fail to recognise episodes for the same patient. Care is therefore needed, especially where duplicate records persist in the data. The patient count cannot be summed across a table where patients may have episodes in more than one cell.  3. Hartlepool PCT was part of the former County Durham and Tees Valley SHA therefore figures in PCT will also be counted in the SHA figures.  4. Episode type = 2 and 5 (delivery episodes) was used to define those who gave birth.   Source:  Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), The Information Centre for health and social care.

Myasthenia Gravis

Chris McCafferty: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what  (a) services and  (b) assistance are available to people diagnosed with myasthenia gravis; and if she will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: People diagnosed with myasthenia gravis have access to the full range of health and social care provided by the national health service. This will include access to the most appropriate medications and surgical interventions based on the clinical judgement of local health professionals.
	I met with Jim Dobbin MP and the Myasthenia Gravis Association on 31 October 2006 to discuss raising the awareness of this condition with health professionals and the public.

St. Nicholas Hospital, Newcastle

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what level of capital charges is levied on the Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Trust for the asset of the listed theatre within the St. Nicholas hospital site, Newcastle; and if she will take steps to waive or to reduce these charges.

Andy Burnham: National health service bodies and the Department are required to pay an agreed rate of return on their assets. This rate of return the cost of capital charge is currently set at 3.5 per cent., so the Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Trust is required to pay a cost of capital charge equivalent to 3.5 per cent. of the balance sheet value of its relevant net assets to the Department. Capital charges in respect of this asset are estimated to be 53,000 per annum.
	The capital charging system was designed to:
	Increase the awareness of health service managers of the cost of capital (including the opportunity cost of having resources tied up in assets and not available for use elsewhere.
	Provide incentives for the efficient use of capital resources.
	Recognise the cost of capital and ensure that this cost is included in the calculation of service costs by providers on a basis which permits comparison between NHS trusts.
	The Government does not propose to take any steps to waive the cost of capital charge in respect of this particular asset, or to adjust the calculation of that charge.

Ultrasound Scans

Andrew Robathan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the waiting time is for an ultrasound scan in the Chelsea and Westminster hospital.

Andy Burnham: The waiting times for non-obstetric ultrasound scans are shown in the following table.
	.
	
		
			  Diagnostic waiting time statistics for Chelsea and Westminster healthcare national health service trust month ending 31 August, patients waiting by length of wait 
			  Weeks 
			  Diagnostic test  Total patients waiting  0-1  1-2  2-3  3-4  4-5  5-6  6-7  7-8  8+  Median 
			 Non-obstetric ultrasound 1,754 292 281 248 227 202 239 159 106 0 3.2 
			  Source:  Monthly diagnostics collection

Irish Language

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the costs to the Department of Health and Public Safety have been of the Department's bilingual policy for the Irish language in each of the last five years.

Paul Goggins: Estimated costs of bilingual policy for the Irish language provided by DHSSPS from 2001-02 to 2005-06
	
		
			   Irish translations( 1)  Publications  Total 
			 2001-02 13,845 16,346.84 30,191.84 
			 2002-03 72,500 16,652.86 89,152.86 
			 2003-04 26,185 3,120.80 29,305.80 
			 2004-05 8,389 1,203.76 9,592.76 
			 2005-06 (2)8,974 0 8,974.00 
			 (1) Irish translation figures include costs for press releases, speeches, advert translations.  (2) The total figure for 2005-06 for Irish translations is made up of 7,590 for translating press release into Irish and 1,384 for translating press adverts into Irish.

NHS (Legal Services)

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland which NHS organisations have contracted for legal services from  (a) MSC Daly and  (b) the Central Services Agency; and which of these organisations had formerly received such services from Brangam, Bagnall and Co.

Paul Goggins: The following table sets out which HSS organisations are using MSC Daly and Central Services Agency for the provision of legal services and which of these organisations had formerly received such services from Brangam Bagnall  Co.
	
		
			   Legal services currently provided by MSC Daly  Legal services currently provided by Central Services Agency  Legal services previously provided by Brangam Bagnall  Co( 1) 
			 Northern Health and Social Services Board Yes  Yes 
			 Southern Health and Social Services Board  Yes Yes 
			 Eastern Health and Social Services Board  Yes Yes 
			 Western Health and Social Services Board  Yes Yes 
			 Royal Group of Hospitals HSS Trust Yes Yes Yes 
			 Belfast City Hospital HSS Trust  Yes Yes 
			 Green Park HSS Trust Yes Yes Yes 
			 Mater HSS Trust Yes  Yes 
			 United HSS Trust  Yes Yes 
			 Altnagelvin HSS Trust  Yes  
			 Ulster Community and Hospital HSS Trust  Yes Yes 
			 Down Lisburn HSS Trust  Yes Yes 
			 North and West Belfast HSS Trust Yes Yes Yes 
			 South and East Belfast HSS Trust Yes Yes Yes 
			 Sperrin Lakeland HSS Trust  Yes  
			 Foyle HSS Trust  Yes  
			 Homefirst HSS Trust  Yes Yes 
			 Causeway HSS Trust  Yes Yes 
			 Craigavon and Banbridge HSS Trust  Yes  
			 Newry and Mourne HSS Trust  Yes  
			 Armagh and Dungannon HSS Trust  Yes  
			 N.I. Ambulance HSS Trust  Yes  
			 Central Services Agency  Yes  
			 N.I. Blood Transfusion Service  Yes  
			 N.I. Medical Physics Agency  Yes  
			 N.I. Medical and Dental Training Agency  Yes  
			 Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority  Yes  
			 N.I. Social Care Council  Yes  
			 N.I. Practice and Education Council for Nursing and Midwifery  Yes  
			 (1) 1 April 1996 to date.

Teachers

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland pursuant to the answer of 16 October 2006,  Official Report, column 1012W, on teachers, how many individuals who qualified as teachers in each of the last five years have not secured full-time posts.

Maria Eagle: Leavers from initial teacher training courses not recording full-time paid employment as destination activity six months after graduation 2000-01 to 2004-05.
	
		
			  Academic year  Leavers not recording full-time paid employment 6 months after graduation 
			 2000-01 76 
			 2001-02 96 
			 2002-03 135 
			 2003-04 169 
			 2004-05 230 
			  Source: Higher Education Statistics Agency 
		
	
	The information held by the Department relates to the destinations of students six months after graduation.

Afghanistan

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much has been spent by the UK on opium poppy eradication in Afghanistan since 2001; and what changes in the level of production of the poppy there has been in the same period.

Kim Howells: Total UK financial support for Afghan counter narcotics between financial year 2002-03 to 2005-06 is 180.4 million. Before this time there was no specific budget for counter narcotics in Afghanistan. This total includes money spent not just on poppy eradication but also on supporting the Afghan Government in building Afghan counter narcotics institutions, criminal justice and law enforcement agencies, and on developing legal livelihoods. Some 50 per cent. of our current annual counter narcotics budget is channelled into programmes to strengthen and diversify legal livelihoods for farmers. The following table sets out the total budget for counter narcotics as well as the budget specifically for poppy eradication in each financial year since 2002-03. The 2002-03 eradication figure includes UK support for the new Afghan Transitional Authority's one off compensated eradication programme.
	
		
			   million 
			  Financial year  Total Afghan counter narcotics spend  Eradication 
			 2002-03 23.1 21.25 
			 2003-04 31.3 1.33 
			 2004-05 33.2 2.25 
			 2005-06 92.8 5.71 
		
	
	According to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime Afghanistan Opium survey, the estimated volume of opium cultivation and production in each of the last five years was as follows:
	
		
			   Cultivation (hectares)  Production (tonnes) 
			 2001-02 74,000 3,400 
			 2002-03 80,000 3,600 
			 2003-04 131,000 4,200 
			 2004-05 104,000 4,100 
			 2005-06 165,000 6,100

Colombia

Jon Cruddas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment her Department has made of the effect of methods of palm oil cultivation on human rights in Colombia; and if she will make a statement.

Geoff Hoon: We are aware of concerns that, while much palm cultivation in Colombia is both legal and unobjectionable, some palms are being grown on lands to which title is in dispute. We are also aware of concerns that palm cultivation can contribute to clearance of tropical forest, which may result in the displacement of people living in these areas. We regularly raise human rights issues with the Colombian Government. My noble Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Lord Triesman of Tottenham, and the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Kim Howells, most recently raised these issues with Colombian Ministers during their respective visits to Colombia in September and October. In April this year, we supported a Colombian documentary which drew public and government attention to the plight of the inhabitants of some parts of Colombia in which palms are being grown.

Departmental Staff

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many staff in her Department received bonus payments in each of the last five years for which information is available; what proportion of the total workforce they represented; what the total amount of bonuses paid has been; what the largest single payment was in each year; and if she will make a statement.

Geoff Hoon: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office paid the following bonuses to staff in each of the last five years:
	
		
			   Number of recipients  Total value ()  Percentage of staff who received a bonus 
			 2006 5,097 5,989,142.00 83 
			 2005 5,094 5,765,811.00 83 
			 2004 (1) 5,567,054.00  
			 2003 5,085 4,027,053.00 87 
			 2002 4,753 2,771,753.00 84 
			 (1) Unavailable 
		
	
	The largest single payments made in each year are:
	
		
			
			 2006 25,500 
			 2005 13,000 
			 2004 12,000 
			 2003 15,000 
			 2002 4,500 
		
	
	Bonus payments are not consolidated with base pay and do not therefore contribute to pension entitlements.

European Regulations

David Heathcoat-Amory: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many EC regulations have been enacted in the UK in each year since 2002.

Geoff Hoon: The following table shows the number of EC regulations enacted each year since2002.
	
		
			  EC Regulations enacted 2002 to 2005 
			  Regulations enacted  Number of regulations 
			  2002  
			 By Parliament and the Council 24 
			 By the Council alone 140 
			 By the Commission 602 
			 Total 766 
			   
			  2003  
			 By Parliament and the Council 35 
			 By the Council alone 154 
			 By the Commission 648 
			 Total 837 
			   
			  2004  
			 By the Parliament and the Council 40 
			 By the Council alone 146 
			 By the Commission 672 
			 Total 858 
			   
			  2005  
			 By the Parliament and the Council 19 
			 By the Council alone 115 
			 By the Commission 599 
			 Total 733